Around twenty years ago I was living in Seattle and going through hard times. I could not find 1 work although I had a lot of experience and a Master's degree.

    To my 2, I had to drive a school bus to 3my family. At the same time, I had some4 with different companies but they all5to say I did not get the job. I went to hit bus barn(车库), feeling6.

    Later that afternoon, 7 doing my rounds through the town I had an inner wave rise from deep 8 me and I thought “Why has my9 become so hard?”

    Immediately after this internal(内心的)scream, I 10 the bus over to drop off a little girl. As she11 she handed me an earring saying I should keep it 12somebody looked for it. The 13 was stamped with words “BE HAPPY” Then I struck me. I had been putting all of my 14into what was wrong with my life rather than what was 15!

    One night there was a phone call for me from the 16at a large hospital. She asked me whether I 17 do a one-day training for 200 hospital workers. I said 18 and got the job.

    My day with the hospital workers 19very well. I got a great 20and many more days of work. To this day I know that it was because I changed my attitude to life.

    In the eyes of a teenage girl, my dad is not the considerate type. He's not the father who will prepare a 1 for his daughter's birthday, and nor is he the man who can easily come up with words 2 an upset kid. So he is not a 3 father I admire very much.

    Being in grade 10 was far more difficult than I had 4. The most horrible thing wasn't my5 grades but my lack of confidence. Under the pressure (压力) of both 6 and relationships, I began to doubt if I could finish school 7.

    It only took less than half a year before I became 8. Worse still, I didn't dare to tell my parents9 about the fact that I had lost all my 10 to study hard.

    One difficult Saturday, I felt sad when I couldn't 11 a math problem. I let tears 12 my face and onto my homework. It was disappointing that my father was right there in the room with me but I still couldn't ask him for 13.

    I was doing my homework 14 Dad silently went out on a burning hot day. I 15 he would be out for the rest of the day. However, this thought turned out to be 16 when he returned home with a big bottle of iced tea for me, and a big smile.

    There are surely countless 17 in our way as we grow up. Never be disappointed and the most important thing we need to keep in mind is that our parents are always our 18. They can 19 their characters for us，so why can't we 20 our real thoughts with them forever and always?

    No one is born a winner. People make themselves into winners by their own 1.

    I learned this lesson from a(n)2many years ago. I took the head 3 job at school in Baxley, Georgia. It was a small school with a weak football program.

    It was a tradition for the school's old team to play against the 4 team at the end of spring practice. The old team had no coach, and they didn't even practise to 5the game. Being the coach of the new team, I was excited because I knew we were going to win, but to my disappointment, we were defeated. I couldn't 6 I had got into such a situation. Thinking hard about it, I came to 7that my team might not be the number one team in Georgia, but they were 8me. I had to change my 9 about their ability and potential.

    I started doing anything I could to help them build a little10. Most important, I began to treat them like11. That summer, when the other teams enjoyed their 12, we met every day and 13 passing and kicking the football.

    Six months after suffering our 14 on the spring practice field, we won our first game and our second, and continued to 15. Finally, we faced the number one team in the state. I felt that it would be a16for us even if we lost the game. But that wasn't what happened. My boys beat the best team in Georgia, giving me one of the greatest 17 of my life!

    From the experience I learned a lot about how the attitude of the leader can 18 the members of a team. Instead of seeing my boys as losers, I pushed and 19them. I helped them to see themselves 20, and they built themselves into winners.

    Winners are made, not born.

    Tonight, I was walking home from work. It was1. I passed a man2on a bench in the street. We looked at each other. As I passed, I half smiled and he just3me, sad like. It seemed he might be staying there for the4. He was wearing a thin sweater.

    As I walked away, I5the cold air on my skin and thought, "I wish I had a6to offer him." I have a bag from my grandmother. I thought maybe there is an extra blanket among her things.

    I looked in the bag but there was no blanket. There was my7winter hat though. I've had it for years. It would keep his head warm at least, I thought. I went back to the man and stood in8just a little away until he looked up.

    I wasn't sure what to say. I didn't want to assume he needed a hat or9even. Maybe he wasn't going to10there for the night. Maybe he was just sad and wanted11to be alone.

    We both stared at each other for a moment and then I12forward and asked simply, "Would you like a hat? '' He looked at me, then at the hat. I 13him to tell me to go away or something similar.14his face softened and he said. "Yes, thank you." "Okay, goodbye ", I said with a little15as he nodded kindly and half16.

    I am glad I had the hat to17. I think I will start keeping blankets. It's getting colder out there and more people are living in the18. As Mother Teresa said, "Let us touch the dying, the poor, the19and the unwanted according to the graces we have received and let us not be20or slow to do the humble (卑贱的) work."

Fifteen-year-old Sansa has been writing for eight years and has been working on a book for the past four. Feeling stuck and unable to write, she started searching for writing groups in Los Angeles, looking for guidance. When she found WriteGirl, she was inspired.

Keren Taylor started WriteGirl in 2001 as a way to help teen girls who did not have access to creative writing programs. "Teen girls are incredibly vulnerable(脆弱的) and invisible," Taylor said. "They really need to be lifted up and inspired."

At WriteGirl, 400 women writers volunteer to mentor(指导) 700 teenagers a year. Every girl who has gone through the mentorship program has gone to college and several have pursued careers as professional writers. Through the program, girls dive into poetry, fiction, songwriting, play and so on, learning techniques from professional women writers. This leads to well-rounded training and sets WriteGirl apart from other organizations.

A typical exercise at WriteGirl is mic and rant, a 30-second session before writing for each girl. As a vehicle for teens to get their ideas out, it empowers girls to explore anything meaningful to them. "Not the flowery language, or rather, complicated expressions that sound skillful, but more of the natural, this is what I'm thinking and what I'm feeling." Taylor said.

Sansa's mentor Danyella Wilder is attracted by the long-term nature of mentoring at WriteGirl. Wilder wishes she had a program like this herself when she was 15. "To just have an organization where people are spending their time just to tell you, ‘Hey, good job,' or ‘That was amazing.' You're at the age where you need to hear that."

I had never picked up a camera before my freshman year in 2012, when my journey to an artist began. For four years, I 1 G-Star School of The Arts, where my 2 for photography and filmmaking were awaken.

Having seen my first short film, my teacher came over, saying: "You got a good 3 . Why not consider doing this as your profession. I think you've got a 4 in it". Then, it clicked. I, therefore, 5 my bank account and bought my first camera.

Since then, I was amazed by the 6 the world has to offer. I have to 7 , though: I, shy and chicken-hearted, tended to capture nature-related scenes, 8 anything to do with people.

As I was 9 my way, I started photographing myself, the only one I felt 10 with. The camera soon became my strongest 11 , serving as the tool for how I expressed myself. Gradually, I gained enough 12 to start taking photos of other people, greatly touched by how I was able to 13 the best in them through the lens (镜头).

Each year, I would look back on all of the shots I did that year and would 14 them to the first one I ever took in my career. Although the progress seemed substantial, I realized the key to growth as an artist is to never be 15 . This allows me to create progressively better work year after year.